Robert McCord notes in his June 15 column that my very own neck of the woods, Randolph County, had the largest percentage of citizens (85 percent) against same-sex marriage in the 2004 state amendment voting.

Counter that statistic with the well-established fact that Arkansas always ranks at or near the top in per capita divorces. In fact, interestingly, in the most recent state-by-state divorce rates that I was able to dredge up (1994: National Center for Health Statistics), Arkansas ranked no. 2 behind Nevada’s first-place position, and — surprise! — Massachusetts, the only state in the union that allows same-sex marriage, ranked No. 51, last among all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Now, one has to be careful not to draw erroneous conclusions, and as a gay man living in what may possibly be the most homo-fearful area of the state I could be accused of bias, so let me just say that I can only scratch my head in wonder. The biblical phrase about straining at gnats and swallowing camels comes to mind. Neil Ragan Pocahontas

The D-G and Asa Am I the only sucker dumb enough to worry that someone might actually believe what the distraction team, the Democrat-Gazette’s editorialists, writes?

This time it was Kane Webb’s column, “Go capitalism!” He tries to legitimize Asa Hutchinson’s $2,800 investment blossoming into $1 million. “The undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, also a former federal prosecutor, lawyer and head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, decides to leave government work. Rather than taking a vow of poverty or starting up a new career as, say, a fry cook, Mr. All Things Security and Enforcement decides to make some cash on what he knows. He invests a small sum with other high-profile ex-pols in a new outfit called Fortress American Acquisition Corp., which does exactly what the name implies: It acquires other companies in the homeland security biz.”

What will Asa and his fellow incorporators bring to these acquired companies other than their contacts within the Homeland Security Department? What are they selling other than their influence?

Mr. Webb says that the stock has dropped. Is the drop connected to the stench from Jack Abramoff’s, Tom DeLay’s or Duke Cunningham’s dealings? Jerry Shell Leslie